The electricity cost depends on the fanless PC’s average power draw at the wall while it is actually streaming, your operating hours, and your tariff. For a continuous 365-day year, calculate it as average watts ÷ 1,000 × 8,760 × price per kWh. Because no verified figure establishes how many watts a particular fanless PC uses for a 24/7 YouTube stream, the examples below show how to calculate your own rather than treating an idle reading or CPU specification as a streaming measurement.
Estimate the annual electricity cost
Use the PC’s average whole-system power in watts, the hours it runs, and the price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) on your electricity bill:
Energy cost = (average watts Ă· 1,000) Ă— operating hours Ă— price per kWh
A 365-day year has 8,760 hours. At a hypothetical steady 10 W, the PC would use 10 ÷ 1,000 × 8,760 = 87.6 kWh per year. The following costs use hypothetical rates; they are arithmetic examples, not estimates of a particular tariff or a measured fanless PC’s streaming draw.
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| Hypothetical electricity rate | Annual cost at 10 W | Monthly average |
|---|---|---|
| 0.05 currency units/kWh | 4.38 currency units | 0.365 currency units |
| 0.12 currency units/kWh | 10.512 currency units | 0.876 currency units |
| 0.24 currency units/kWh | 21.024 currency units | 1.752 currency units |
| 0.40 currency units/kWh | 35.04 currency units | 2.92 currency units |
To estimate a different draw using this table, multiply the 10 W costs by your measured watts divided by 10. For a partial year or a different schedule, use actual operating hours instead of 8,760. Doubling the average watts, hours, or rate doubles the resulting energy cost.
Measure the PC while it streams
Use a wall-socket reading
Measure the complete computer at the socket with a plug-in electricity meter while it is doing the work you want to cost: running the intended YouTube streaming setup. GMKtec’s September 30, 2026 guide describes the useful figure as the power the complete computer draws at the socket during your own work, multiplied by the time spent doing it: Mini PC Power Consumption: How to Measure Watts and kWh.
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Use an average reading representative of normal operation, not just a brief peak or a momentary idle value. Idle and active readings can differ, and general mini-PC power guides do not establish an exact draw for a fanless PC streaming YouTube continuously. A CPU’s thermal design power (TDP) and the wattage printed on a power adapter are not substitutes for a socket measurement. MiniPCLab’s calculation guide likewise uses watts, annual hours and the local kWh rate; its 10 W example at $0.12/kWh yields $10.51 a year, as a general calculation rather than a measured streaming result: Mini-PC electricity cost guide.
Decide what equipment the reading includes
A meter measures what is plugged into it. If the PC is measured alone, the estimate covers the PC. If a monitor, speakers, router or other equipment is also included, the cost covers that combined setup; name those devices when reporting the result. MiniPCLab explains that wall-outlet readings capture whole-system consumption, including power-supply efficiency losses: Mini-PC power consumption guide.
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Apply your actual electricity rate
- Find the applicable price per kWh on your current electricity bill or tariff. Use the rate relevant to your usage and billing period; the examples above do not claim to represent any country’s typical price.
- Record average watts at the wall while the PC is running the streaming workload, using a plug-in meter.
- Choose the operating hours for the period you are estimating. For uninterrupted operation throughout a 365-day year, use 8,760 hours.
- Calculate the estimate using (watts Ă· 1,000) Ă— hours Ă— price per kWh. The division by 1,000 converts watts to kilowatts.
- Keep the scope consistent: use a PC-only reading for a PC-only cost, or include and identify the other equipment in both the measurement and estimate.
For example, if your own measurement were 10 W and your tariff were 0.12 currency units per kWh, the calculation would be 10 Ă· 1,000 Ă— 8,760 Ă— 0.12 = 10.512 currency units per year. This is a hypothetical illustration; substitute your own measured watts and bill rate.
What this estimate does—and does not—tell you
- It estimates electricity use for the equipment included in the meter reading. It does not include the purchase price of the PC or other costs.
- It cannot establish a generic 24/7 streaming draw for all fanless PCs. The actual result depends on the computer and its workload, so measure the intended setup.
- A fanless design describes cooling rather than a guaranteed power-consumption figure. For example, ASUS describes the ExpertCenter PL64-D1 as fanless and supporting a CPU of up to 15 W; that CPU specification is neither whole-system wall draw nor proof of suitability for a particular YouTube stream: ASUS ExpertCenter PL64-D1.
- The calculation is for electricity consumption, not whether a chosen PC can reliably encode or transmit a stream at your intended resolution. Verify the computer’s streaming capability separately.
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